Image Credit : DP International
Project Overview
London’s population has grown approximately over 10 million over the last 10 years but only 202,400 new homes have been built over the same period. Freeing up land to be developed into new homes is only part of the solution, with other means like densification and policy reform as alternatives. The project identifies the potential for building housing that utilises existing infrastructure and leftover space. By building over small pockets of London’s open rail lines the study has revealed the potential to build 7,500 new homes in the greater London area.
Organisation
Team
Frven Lim
Claire Fleetwood
Marisa Dewi
Elena Mata Mota
Jessica Hindradjaja
Project Brief
HotHob is a case study that examines the viability of using leftover space over railways as a way to address London’s chronic housing crisis. The study proposes the utilisation of existing rail infrastructure to create pockets of developable land for housing. The aim of the study is to see how new homes can be created with minimal impact to infrastructure, yet yield the maximum benefit; such as proximity to Central London and buildability. Through the use of DfMA (i.e offsite homes) the study indicates the potential yield of 7,500 homes over a portion of the 14 over-ground rail lines.
The study indicated 180 locations along the lines of over-ground rail where three-storey homes could potentially be built over train tracks. These housing units, using the existing bridges as means of access – named ‘Homes over Tracks, Homes on Bridges’ or HotHobs for short – can be rolled out efficiently and quickly to meet the rising demand of housing at an affordable price.
The project report describes how, with good design and planning, these HotHobs can become lively integrated communal living spaces that also respond to their surrounding environment. The study also examines how smaller local players (developers and designers) can contribute to affordable housing with good design, intelligent building methods and the careful selection of materials.
Project Innovation/Need
The project highlights the possibility for the HotHob system to be rolled out over London with modular housing units that seamlessly integrate into the existing fabric of the city. With greater numbers of city-workers able to commute more easily into the city, perhaps paradoxically, the system relieves pressure off the transport system.
By capitalising on the rail lines is fundamentally borrowing the concept of the Asian market’s Transit- Oriented-Developments’, albeit in London at a different scale, contextual-typology, density and community-sensitivity. With the plot of airspace and its means of access already existing, the task is more to pull together and align the various players and parts of the value-chain.
Design Challenge
In order to build efficiently over rail lines, that are highly sensitive to disruption due to construction, the implementation methodology is to fabricate all components off-site. On-site assembly is carefully planned to minimise work carried out in the space. The home pods utilise Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) principles to greatly reduce site work. The standard of engineering in the UK will allow these homes to be constructed in the shortest amount of time without compromising quality and structural integrity.
Sustainability
Amongst the many questions we ‘designed for’, the study shows a detailed investigation into the adaptability of the modular housing carcass. The aim was two-fold: (1) to shave-off the cost of finishes and fitments to make our homes cheaper to build and more affordable for first time buyers, and (2) to conceive the housing unit like a palette for one’s own adaption through time into a personalized home. In turn, smaller local building firms would be able to take on these mini-sites throughout London. By combining good design with intelligent building methods and careful selection of local materials, and customisation, the housing units could be made possible at lower construction costs. In addition, with an estimated 25% of all construction materials ending up in landfill sites, the most obvious waste-related benefit of DfMA is its ability to cut material waste.
Tags
Architecture - Proposed
This award celebrates the design process and product of planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, and aesthetic considerations. Consideration given for material selection, technology, light and shadow. The project can be a concept, tender or personal project, i.e. proposed space.
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